Distribution

In today's market, we now have both physical and digital distribution; physical being a professionally replicated CD that is packaged with artwork; digital being sound files available for purchase or for free via the Internet on sites like MP3.com, Napster, Java Music, and a slew of others that exist out there. The digital medium is still new and evolving and has yet to develop a set of standards to make it an efficient revenue generating delivery model at this point.

Now that you have your CD, you probably would like to get it into some CD stores. This can be done either by you placing it in local stores yourself on consignment or by having a distribution company do it for you. Consignment means the store will take it into their inventory and pay you if it sells. If it doesn't, they will keep it for an extended period or return it to you with no money changing hands. If a distributor places the CD in stores for you, most likely it will be a consignment relationship as well. Once they get paid for the sale, you'll get paid. Some distributors will buy product from bands and then sell it to their accounts. This is becoming less common as more independent bands release CDs. Only large established independent bands with marketing budgets and busy touring schedules can demand these conditions. Having distribution for your CD doesn't mean anything if people don't know who you are. It's also not the distributors job to promote your CD, but to make it available to accounts they service. It is up to the band or label to make promotional materials such as posters and one-sheets to let CD stores know what's going on with the band and why a store should stock your CD. Distributors are happy to send these materials out to their accounts, but they are not going to foot the bill for them. That is your job.

Another place you can sell your CD is on the Internet. Getting plugged into places like Cdnow.com, amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and other sites is a possibility for independent artists now. This is a great way to sell product to the masses that wasn't available 3-4 years ago. But, it doesn't matter if the band isn't working and people are not familiar with you. You can also sell your CD from your own website and from other independent sites that specialize in independent music. Again, these are great outlets, but are only as successful as the work the band puts into them.

The main thing to know about distribution today is it's more readily available to serious artists and hobbyists than ever before. It also shows the reality of how difficult it is to sell CDs to the general consumer.

The value of music has diminished significantly over the last couple years due to free music on the Internet. People are less apt to buy music if they can find the songs they like for free and download them. As an artist, be careful how much material you give away for free. Samples are a good way to entice people to buy your music, that's what the net and its wonderful abilities should be used for.